From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Xinhua: Clombian Gov't-Rebel Talks Fruitless as Sunday Deadline Looms Clombian Gov't-Rebel Talks Fruitless as Sunday Deadline Looms Xinhuanet 2002-01-20 12:19:10 BOGOTA, January 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The Colombian government and the country's largest guerrilla group FARC concluded their another round of peace talks on Saturday without any agreement on a working timetable on the future peace talks. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had been pressurized to accept a government-proposed timetable for talks on a ceasefire and an end to hostilities, before a Sunday deadline set by President Andres Pastrana. After the nearly eight-hour talks, government chief negotiator Camilo Gomez told reporters that the two sides will meet again Sunday when a "definitive" agreement is expected to be achieved to save the on-again-off-again peace process, formally initiated in January 1999. "The atmosphere is encouraging out there so that a consensus is likely to be reached Sunday on the government-proposed schedule (leading to a ceasefire) before the life of the demilitarized zone expires," Gomez said. The 42,000-square-kilometer neutral zone in southern Colombia was ceded by the government to the FARC in December 1998 in a bid to promote peace. The rebels will have to leave the area from midnight on Sudnay if the two sides fail to attain the much-expected accord. "We have been working hard though all the day with the participation of the international community. We have made some advances but more job is still needed," Gomez indicated. Meanwhile, he condemned the new wave of offensives committed by the 16,500-strong FARC in different regions across the country Saturday, specially an ambush in a western rural area which killed 15 soldiers. Enditem _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
